Strip cyclone

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a strip cyclone configuration. Each strip comprises a plurality of chambers within an integral strip medium. Each of the chambers comprises a substantially cylindrical portion. Each of the cylindrical portions in each chamber is parallel with the cylindrical portion of each of the other chambers. Each chamber has a snail-like helical portion for inlet of gas having liquid suspended therein. The inlet portion of each chamber and the cylindrical portion of each chamber is separated by a wall of a portion of the integral medium from each of the other inlet portions and each of the other cylindrical portions, respectively, of each of the other chambers.

United States Patent 1191 Doerschlag [54] STRIP CYCLONE [75] Inventor:Christian Doerschlag, Columbus,

[52] US. Cl. ..55/238, 55/257, 55/349,

55/440, 55/459, 55/DIG. 25, 261/79 A [51] Int. Cl. ..B01d 47/06 [58]Field of Search ..55/342, 343, 344,

55/345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 238, 237, 236, 235, 257, 440, 459, DIG. 25,460, 239; 210/512; 261/79 A, 79 R, 108,111, 112,

[56] p References Cited 1451 May 8, 1973 112,237 6/1964 Czechoslovakia..5s 34e 1,189,075 3/1959 France ..5S/238 726,388 3/1955 Great Britain-55 349 37,851 4/1936 Netherlands ..55/238 Primary ExaminerDennis E.Talbert, Jr. Attorney-David A. Maxon [57] ABSTRACT This inventionrelates to a strip cyclone configuration. Each strip comprises aplurality of chambers within an integral strip medium. Each of thechambers comprises a substantially cylindrical portion. Each of thecylindrical portions in each chamber is parallel with the cylindricalportion of each of the other chambers. Each chamber has a snail-likehelical portion for inlet of gas having liquid suspended therein. Theinlet portion of each chamber and the cylindrical portion of eachchamber is separated by a wall of a portion of the integral medium fromeach of the other inlet por- UNITED STATES PATENTS tions and each of theother cylindrical portions, 1,999,589 4 1935 Frey SS/238 respectively,of h f t th r hambers. 2,351,864 6/1944 Linderman, Jr. ..261/79 A 1 6Claims, 6 Drawing Figures FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 170,856 4/1952Austria ..55/349 ll'x- [Ir/TI in 1'' I. I \7 n I 7 7 Patented May 8,1973 I 3,731,463

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY INVENT Ci-RI STlAN DOER AG Patented May 8,1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w W W INVENTOR CHRISTIAN 005mm;

w 42' M W ATTORNEY a snail-like or helical inlet portion flaring intothe inner radial extremity of a cylindrical portion of a chamber.

Gases containing liquid particles suspended therein are introduced ingas flow into the snail-like inlet portion.

Due to themotion of the particles of the gas upon such entry, and theconfiguration of the snail-like entry portion of the cyclone chamber,the gas and particles suspended therein are swirled about such that theliquid is directed to the walls of the cylindrical chamber in everincreasing size of droplets upon further rotation. The gas and liquidare extracted or flow out of the chamber through a common outlet port.

The principle involved in the operation of such a device is not to relyupon the scrubbing effect of water sprays or upon turbulence created byhigh velocity gas flow, but in contra-distinction to this, to rely uponthe conversion of the pressure energy of gases into centrifugal forces.The effect produced by these forces is a high collecting efficiency whenextracting dust, mist and fumes having particles of relatively smallsize from waste-gases and process-gases. The energy consumption isconsiderably lower than that'required by other types of scrubbers ofcomparable efficiency.

The above referred to Van Der Kolk patent discloses an array of tileswherein each tile has an inlet chamber and cylindrical outlet chamberportion as discussed above. An array disclosed in the Van Der Kolkpatent is that of a vertical array. More precisely, this is an arrayparatus; reduces labor in the forming of snail-like inlet portions andcylindrical outlet portion of cyclones; reduces complications in thefabrication of cyclone chambers; reduces maintenance and eliminatescomplication of maintenance in cyclone devices; and reduces costs inmaximizing flexibility of design parameters for cyclone devicesembodying the invention.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a modular unitdesigned with the appropriate expertise in the art of particle or mistcollection for use in a proper enclosure around it, wherethe design ofthe aforesaid proper enclosure does not require expertise in particle ormist collection. In other words, it is an object of this invention toprovide a modular unit having inlet ports of less than 6 square inchesapplicable to wide variety in which the cylindrical outlet portion ofeach chamber is co-communicative with and integral with the cylindricaloutlet portion of each of the other chambers in the array. Thecylindrical portions are co-axial and vertically stacked one upon theother. 7

Another type of array of cyclone chambers is a horizontal array. In ahorizontal array, the array comprises a plurality of tiles. Each tilehas a snail-like inlet portion and a cylindrical'outlet portion asdiscussed above. Each tileis manufactured separately and then assembledin the array. a

The present invention relates to an integral strip array of cyclonechambers wherein each of'the chambers has a snail-like inlet portion anda cylindrical outlet portion similar to that described above. However,this configuration is achieved by the present invention in a mannerdifferent from that discussed above as will be discussed more fullybelow.

It is an object of this invention to provide a cyclone apparatuscomprising a plurality of sub-arrays of cyclone chambers wherein eachsub-array is an integral structure.

It is another object of this invention to provide an integral sub-arrayof cyclone chambers in a manner that reduces the number of assembledcomponents in an operative cyclone device; reduces the cost ofproduction machinery necessary to produce cyclone apof design parametersof I the enclosure where such parameters may be independent of designcriteria of dust or mist collection, and yet the resultant assemblyachieves a cyclone strip requiring significantly less space, less powerconsumption, less water consumption, and yet comparable efficiency ofprior art devices such as a Venturi scrubber.

In a Venturi scrubber, the efficiency of the Venturi, that is, theefficiency of collection of dust particles by weight in a specificvolume of gas at a temperature specified is dependent upon pressuredrop. In a Venturi scrubber, the pressure drop across the Venturi throatis the primary parameter upon which the efficiency of the scrubber isdetermined. lmpaction and agglomeration are the primary functions of theVenturi in removing dust particles from a gas stream.

These points are discussed in Optimization of Factors Affecting ScrubberPerformance by M. Taheri and G. F. Haines published in Vol. 19, No. 6 ofthe Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association in the June 1969issue: and SUCCESSFUL CLEANING OF OPEN- HEARTH EXHAUST GAS WITH AHIGH-ENERGY VENTURI SCRUBBER by C. A. Bishop et al., of AppliedResearch, U. S. Steel Corporation No. -51; and US. Pat. No. 2,604,185,issued July 22, 1952 to H. F. Johnstone et al.

In contrast, the present invention is dependent upon centrifugal forcein removing liquid particles, in which solid particles such as dust aresuspended, from a gas stream. in a cyclone that is an embodiment of thepresent invention, a force having an order of magnitude 50,000 timesgreater than the force of gravity is achieved. By virtue of the factthat the principle of separation in the cyclone embodiment of thepresent invention is dependent primarily upon centrifugal force incontrast to the principle factors of an impaction and agglomerationutilized in the Venturi, cyclones having a throat area of relativelysmall dimensions achieve an efficiency equal to or better than that ofthe Venturi scrubber. More particularly, in throat or port entry havinga cross-sectional area of less than 6 inches, this effect is achieved. Iv

A still further object of this invention is to provide an integral stripof cyclones of miniature dimensions, that is dimensions of less than 2inches in diameter in a manner that is inexpensive to fabricate andefficient in operation.

These and other objects of this invention will be understood morefullyfrom the specification and claims below.

In this invention, a strip member is provided. The member is cast withshapes therein. These shapes correspond to cylindrical outlet portionsand snail-like inlet portions of a cyclone device. In cyclone apparatusembodying this invention, these strips are arranged inparrallel-horizontal arrays and a sealant is provided between thestrips.

ON THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective three-dimensional view of astrip member of the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the apparatus taken alongsection lines 22 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a partial transverse sectional view of the apparatus takenalong section line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3;,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an assembly of stripmembers of the preferred embodiment of this invention; and I FIG. 6 is afuller cross-sectional view of the apparatus of the preferred embodimentof this invention.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the present invention is not limited in its applicationto the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated inthe accompanying drawings since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein is for the purpose of description and not oflimitation.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWINGS A strip member 10 of the preferred embodimentof this invention is shown in FIG. 1. The strip member 10 is in theshape of a long rectangular parallelepiped body portion 12 having uppermid section beveled edges 14 surrounding the upper mid section perimeterthereof and a top rectangularly shaped cap portion 16. The strip memberis preferably cast from a liquid material in a process using specialmolding equipment, and after the material has hardened by cooling, formsand molds are removed leaving the completed shape.

The material can be iron, bronze, aluminum, zinc,

nylon, glass, Bakelite, or ceramic or other material suitable forforming and use in such application.

Interior shapes are formed during the casting process of the stripmember 10. These interior shapes are cyclone chambers 20. The cyclonechambers comprise outlet chamber portions 22 and inlet chamber portions24. The outlet chamber portions 22 are apertures in the strip member 10that have right circular cylindrical walls 26. The outlet chamberportions extend from a high point, level with the top inner angle 28 ofthe beveled edges 14, to the bottom 30 of the strip member.

The inlet portions 24 have a snail-like appearance which spirals fromentry ports 32 beginning immediately above the top inner angles ofbeveled edges 14 and converging into a circular surface 34. The circularsurface 34 is radially concentric with the axis 36 of the right circularcylindrical outlet chamber portion 22.

Immediately prior to the convergence of the vertical wall surface of theinlet portion with the aforementioned right circular cylindrical wallportions of the outlet chamber portion, the vertical wall portion of theinlet chamber portion extends gradually radially outwardly from suchconvergence. This extension 37 is due to the shape of this vertical wallof the inlet portion that can be geometrically described as asemi-circular arc having a fixed radius proportionately significantlygreater than the radius of the right circular cylindrical wall of theoutlet chamber portion and having an axis 39 of rotation parallel to theaxis 36 of rotation of the right circular cylindrical wallaforementioned. A plane 41 passing through these axes of rotation isparallel to the exterior vertical length of the strip member 10.

A cross section of the strip members in vertical array is shown in FIG.5. The strip members are placed in parallel horizontal array withrespect to each other. A sealant 40 is provided between the adjoiningstrip members 10. The sealant 40 is preferably a material that isplyable and heat resistant and will provide an airtight joint under theoperating conditions such as silicon, rubber, or tar. After the sealantis applied, the horizontal array 42 is provided with channel portions 44that serve as conduits of large conglomerates of liquid separating fromgas in a liquid saturated or near saturated condition, sprayed from anozzel, (not shown) located above the array of strips and evenlydistributed across the array of strips prior to the entry of the gasinto the inlet ports 32.

In FIG. 6 a gas flow in the direction of arrow 50 is directed towards anarray of strip members 10. The gas enters the cyclone chambers 20 andthe gas then passes downwardly through cyclone chambers 20 together withthe liquid that has collected along the walls of the outlet chamberportions 22. An array of metal L- shaped members or angle irons 52 aresecured below, and support the array of strip members 52. The length ofeach angle iron 52 is substantially perpendicular to the length of eachstrip member 10. The top portion 54 of each of the angle irons islocated below the bottom 30 of the strip members near the bottom of theoutlet chamber portions 22. Liquid that is collected along the walls ofthe outlet chamber portion 22 is free to flow onto the top surface 56 ofthe top portion 54 of the angle irons. The angle irons direct thisliquid to flow into a pan 60, which in turn directs the flow of liquidto a drain 62. The gas coming from the outlet chamber portions 22 flowsbetween the angle irons 52 and is directed out of chamber in thedirection of arrow 72 through outlet portion 74.

From the preceding specification, it can be observed that apparatus forseparation of small liquid particles suspended in the gas has beenprovided that is uncomplicated in manufacture-and operation. Inparticular, it can be observed that the shape of the cyclone, whichrequires a signif cant measure of precision, can be molded insub-arrays, where each sub-array comprises a significantly largeplurality of such cyclone shapes. The resulting sub-array is a singlepart that can be readily molded. The utility of an integral sub-array ofv cyclones in constructing and maintaining a cyclone in separation ofliquid in small particles from gas, in an efficient and uncomplicatedmanner, can thus be readily appreciated.

Iclaim:

1. In a cyclone apparatus for agglomerating minute particles of liquidsuspended in a gas to form large drops, the improvements comprising:

a sub-array consisting of a plurality of parallel separating chambershaving separate interior wall surfaces;

each of said chambers having the same cross-sectional shapes as each ofthe other chambers;

each of said chambers being provided with only one tangential inletportion separated at a distance from the tangential inlet portion ofeach of the other chambers;

each of said chambers being provided with only one outlet portionaxially spaced away from and having surfaces tangential with itsaforementioned inlet portion and separated from and non-communicativewith each of the outlet portions of each of the other chambers;

each of said chambers arranged to impart rotary movement to a flow ofgas and suspended liquid introduced thereto;

each of said chambers conducting said flow of gas and condensed liquidout of said outlet portion;

and each said sub-array of chambers being contained within a singleintegral cast medium and structure and an array of said sub-array ofsaid sub-arrays of chambers comprising parallel contiguous arrays of theaforementioned sub-arrays; a sealant provided in channels defined by theside by side relationship of said sub-arrays; said channel beingoperable to conduct liquid in large agglomerates separating fromsaturated or nearly saturated gas prior to the entry of the gas into theinlet portion of said chambers;

2. The apparatus of claim 1 and fluid conduit members supporting saidsub-arrays being in a parallel array themselves and being substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal displacement of each of the integralchambers;

and directing liquid collected within the outlet portions of thechambers downwardly from said array of chambers.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 and a pan for a drain for respectivelydirecting the flow and collecting the flow of liquid from the supportingstructures.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 and a gas outlet port operable to conductgas from between supporting structures outwardly and through a portspaced at a distance away from the drain and in a direction from thespace between the supporting structures different from the directionbetween said space and said drain.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each inlet portion of each of saidchambers has a snail-like helical portion;

each outlet portion of each of said chambers has a right circularcylindrical portion;

said inlet portion having interior wall surfaces that are right circularcylindrical in shape having a radius greater than the radius of thecylindrical portions of said outlet portions and converging with thecylindrical wall of said outlet portion;

the diameter of said outlet portion being less than 2 inches;

said apparatus having an efficiency of the same order of magnitude of aVenturi scrubber at lower ower. I 6. n the apparatus of claim 5, theinlet portion hav-

1. In a cyclone apparatus for agglomerating minute particles of liquidsuspended in a gas to form large drops, the improvements comprising: asub-array consisting of a plurality of parallel separating chambershaving separate interior wall surfaces; each of said chambers having thesame cross-sectional shapes as each of the other chambers; each of saidchambers being provided with only one tangential inlet portion separatedat a distance from the tangential inlet portion of each of the otherchambers; each of said chambers being provided with only one outletportion axially spaced away from and having surfaces tangential with itsaforementioned inlet portion and separated from and non-communicativewith each of the outlet portions of each of the other chambers; each ofsaid chambers arranged to impart rotary movement to a flow of gas andsuspended liquid introduced thereto; each of said chambers conductingsaid flow of gas and condensed liquid out of said outlet portion; andeach said sub-array of chambers being contained within a single integralcast medium and structure and an array of said sub-array of saidsub-arrays of chambers comprising parallel contiguous arrays of theaforementioned sub-arrays; a sealant provided in chAnnels defined by theside by side relationship of said sub-arrays; said channel beingoperable to conduct liquid in large agglomerates separating fromsaturated or nearly saturated gas prior to the entry of the gas into theinlet portion of said chambers.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 and fluidconduit members supporting said sub-arrays being in a parallel arraythemselves and being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinaldisplacement of each of the integral chambers; and directing liquidcollected within the outlet portions of the chambers downwardly fromsaid array of chambers.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 and a pan for adrain for respectively directing the flow and collecting the flow ofliquid from the supporting structures.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 and agas outlet port operable to conduct gas from between supportingstructures outwardly and through a port spaced at a distance away fromthe drain and in a direction from the space between the supportingstructures different from the direction between said space and saiddrain.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each inlet portion of each ofsaid chambers has a snail-like helical portion; each outlet portion ofeach of said chambers has a right circular cylindrical portion; saidinlet portion having interior wall surfaces that are right circularcylindrical in shape having a radius greater than the radius of thecylindrical portions of said outlet portions and converging with thecylindrical wall of said outlet portion; the diameter of said outletportion being less than 2 inches; said apparatus having an efficiency ofthe same order of magnitude of a Venturi scrubber at lower power.
 6. Inthe apparatus of claim 5, the inlet portion having a cross-sectionalarea of less than 6 square inches and relying primarily solely oncentrifugal forces generated within the inlet chambers to separateliquid particles suspended in the gas from the gas while in the chamber,wherein the pressure drop within the inlet portion of the chamber isless than a pressure drop of a Venturi scrubber having similardimensions and comparable efficiency.